Internship at Nukufilm @nukufilmintern-blog - Tumblr Blog

Posts

somerestlesswanderer

#roadtrip #estonia #sooma #nationalpark #nature #bogs #bogpools

nukufilmintern-blog

Sooma National Park picture by me

May update - Back in Belgium

Beyond the comfort zone

You never know what kind of adventure/experience awaits you.. During the search of an animation studio internship I hardly knew how many studios were out there, especially the stop-motion ones. Optimistic me thought that I might have a shot at working in studios in the Netherlands (Pedri Animation), United Kingdom (Yanimation Studios, Kerrupt) or even France (Vivement Lundi). Somehow, I thought I would not be very far from Belgium and part of me wanted to be not too far from my boyfriend as we are so dramatically in love.

In all honesty, I never heard of Nukufilm before my graduation and it was only after a suggestion by my previous teacher that Estonian films were interesting that my initial search width expanded. Then the liberating email came in and the joy made me jump around like crazy and I could not stop smiling. But then, what knowledge did I have of Estonia and Nukufilm anyway??

With my personal journal and this Tumblr blog I kept track of enriching findings, raw beauty and simply fun things. I discovered some of the national history mostly through landmarks and monuments such as the Lauluväljak, the high rising Teletorn, hidden alleys through the Old Town of Tallinn and KUMU museum. Also, watching older films made by Nukufilm enriched my views about the culture and the people . The other big part of what makes Estonia memorable is the vastness of forests all over the mainland and the islands. Nature has always inspired me and, along with the smaller and calmer population in comparison to my birth place, the whole of those two things made me quite peaceful. Needless to say it is quite the difference with fully bricked and quite populated Belgium.

Wrapping up Morten

The production of ‘Morten On The Ship Of Fools’ -the Estonian part in this co-production- has finished. Somewhere in July the stop-motion shooting will continue in Ireland with the support of Telegael studio. Sometime this month/begin July, I hope to take a look at the CG work in progress of GRID-VFX in Ghent. This Belgian studio will make the water animation for most of the scenes. While I’m at it, why not drop a link to the teaser trailer of Morten right here: https://vimeo.com/138532653

Also, besides working on Morten, my final job consisted of making autumn props for another ‘Myriam’ short film. This equals making things such as reeks, bushes packed with branches and over a thousand colourful tree leaves (yes, you read that right, 1000!). My puppet head had received its last silicone paint job as well and, with the delicate and wonderful powdering work of Margrethe Danielsen, it got completed. In the very last week I made a first pair of eyes and matching eyelids. But since I was not pleased with them, another pair is in the making.

Road trip West-Estonia

For making a closure of the whole internship experience, my boyfriend and I reunited once more in Tallinn and packed our bags for one week. Finally, it was time for our road trip through the lush green land of forests and quiet. I want to share our travel journal and that is why this will be done in a new blog post. To warm all of you up to come and visit the land of forests and songs ;-)

Now what?

Currently I am looking for a job. Another challenge on a different level, persistence is key. In the meantime, I combine job searching with personal projects to improve other skills, such as making another pair of eyes for the puppet head and preparing small animations with it. To this day the balance is not completely aligned yet, but as Tolkien says “Not all those who wander are lost.”.

And still feeling the hangover of my return...

Gifts from Nukufilm peeps I am so very grateful to have spent four months with this wonderful family. Happy and sad at the same time now.. :')

April update - and the adventure is almost over

Another month filled with adventures, small and tall.

Each day I enjoy the more lingering daylight thanks to the daylight saving. Nevertheless, the beginning of April was quite cold and cloudy. One Wednesday morning it was quite sunny and there were little clouds. By noon some colleagues gathered to go outside and suggested to visit Oleviste Kirik (Olaf’s church) that opened up after winter break. There was a small walking platform around the church’s spire that provided a beautiful sight of the whole of Tallinn and the Baltic sea. The platform’s height was about 66 metres while the spire reached 124 metres.

It got warmer on top of the walking platform but the warmth did not stay very long: there was a thunderstorm on the same day in the afternoon.

Mid April the sun started to shine more often, but I still wore my winter jacket to face the cold winds and the rainy days. Saturday 16th we went to see Tallinn’s Teletorn or television tower. Obsessed with heights and panoramic views, my boyfriend, who was visiting me, was excited for a second time after Olaf’s Church. The viewing platform was located at 170 metres altitude and the peak was 314 metres tall. Afterwards we recovered from the altitude rush at cat café Nurri.

When the boyfriend flew back to Brussels, I was on my own again. Finally** ;-) On April the 22nd there was the premiere of two films made by Joonisfilm, the other animation studio in Tallinn that is specialized in 2D computer animation. First film was “Siseilmadest väljas” or “Out of the Internal Worlds”, Helen Unt’s debut film, and the second film “Linnugripp” or “Bird Flu” by Priit Tender. Afterparty was held at Paar Veini, where early birds occupied all the tables with fruit and cheese platters.

Another event that lingers in my head is Ene’s birthday. She has reached the fruitful age of 66. Probably it is because of her honest and optimistic nature that she is fit and still looks great. Everyone of Nukufilm got invited to her party that was held in the lounge of a monastery museum in Old Town. A lot of people turned up, all part of her community such as her church choir, family and others. There was plenty of food and drinks. The cakes, sliced directly by the baker, were huge!

By the end of the month, temperature is rising again and spring has finally arrived. When walking to work, I always follow this path next to the train station and during the day it is always bathing in the sun. Walking like this almost every morning and evening is a blessing. Off course, strolling along the coast line is also very calming for me.

**For those who are in the dark, I am an self discovered introvert and it makes me crave for alone time to recharge. Social interaction and other triggers like noises, smells, words ... drain introverts and this exhaustion is usually linked with the many triggers that drain HSP’s (High Sensitive Person) as well. Most of MBTI typology tests pointed out that I am likely an INFJ, though a type does not define a person completely. With that said, I mostly enjoy one-on-one conversations and prefer a small group of friends where I can be my witty self. With these close friends I usually do not feel drained but rather energized.

Mini matchbox from last month

Reeks!

Iris of eye, detail

March update

After two months from the start of the internship, I find it quite comfortable to work here. Moreover, I love my job: getting to know the materials, equipment and people better and feeling more confident in what I want to do professionally. Below some photos to show you what I have been working on:

A first: on the second Sunday of March I went outside of the bustling city. The cityscape was exchanged for the quiet nature phenomenon Jägala Juga (‘juga’ meaning waterfall). The cascading water was no longer frozen, although some icicles could be spotted underneath. In this place, spread with nature’s white carpet, the ear-deafening sound of silence made me very peacefully.

As the days fly by, differences that come with the changing of the seasons are noticeable, for the white blankets creep away slowly with the growing light. The rising of the temperature has had a slow start. Even in the middle of March, the weather gods blessed Estonia with a last snowstorm, only to dazzle the land with sunshine just a week later.

In the meantime, there has been an Estonian premiere of the Norwegian-Estonian cut-out animation film ‘Evige Jaktmarker’ (English ‘Eternal Hunting Grounds’), which was shot last year at Nukufilm. Seeing the film in the old cinema Sõprus was great. First, an episode of a children’s tv series ‘Miriam’ was shown, followed by the trailer of ‘Morten On The Ship Of Fools’, the current feature film Nukufilm (and I) are working on. Then a wonderful and ethereal music performance by music composer Sam McLoughlin was held. Right before the screening, the director gave every contributing crew member a rose. Even though the Estonian language made it impossible for me to understand the dialogue, stunning paper art works were etched into the audience’s memory. Lastly, a tasty afterparty took place at Sesoon Kalamaja Kohvik, the restaurant that is located in the same building as Nukufilm’s studio and occasionally serves as the lunch canteen. http://www.eternalhuntinggrounds.com/ http://kohviksesoon.ee/

Worked on this big daisy past 3 weeks. Made everything except for the petal leaves

My thoughts to my dearest Belgian friends and family!

#brusselsbombing #brusselsairport #zaventaime

This Tuesday I received flowers for Women's Day.

#international women's day #flowers #estonia

February update

#Tallinn #nukufilm

Long finished painting frames, because some secrets can be shared ;)

#propmaking #stop motion #painting frames #handcrafted

#walking in a winter wonder land #tallinn #snow #walks

The keys, finished!

#propmaking #stop motion #old keys

Some more propmaking and sculpting at Nukufilm

#sculpting #nukufilm #miniature #propmaking

3 weeks of Tallinn

About two weeks ago my internship at Nukufilm finally started! Excited as I was, I jumped into my new creative team by starting with prop making. While the animators are shooting on different sets, one new set needs to be built and decorated. Pärtel, who is in charge of all the props, gave me the assignment of making books and antique painting frames. Earlier some sneak peaks of the frames were put online and for now the end result remains a secret. What I can share with you is that they look AMAZING!

During these two weeks, I have witnessed four parties at work ; three of them were birthday parties and one award celebration party. In Estonia it is a tradition for the birthday boy/gril to bring some drinks and food to work and be the host of their own party at the ‘office’. Before anyone gets to eat or drink anything, everyone applauds and comes to shake hands with the host, blessing him/her with good health and fortune, and brings a gift (optional).

One remarkable thing with some parties, while they are held during the regular work times, the host may bring anything he/she likes to offer the others. In the case of Nukufilm, some people bring strong alcohol like wine, Jägermeister or vodka to serve along with mixers. You would not find something like that very often in Belgium I believe.

At the other celebration, there were margaritas (the cocktail in this case) along with plenty of food for everyone. As part of the celebration, people get to sing karaoke songs and have to take turns for signing. Or in some jolly cases, everyone together sings like a choir, false or not. It is a sort of joke that keeps the mood of the party.

Amidst all the fun things at work and exploring the city here, something sad happened past Saturday. Back home in Belgium my dearest beloved cat Titus has passed away. He was present in many key moments of my life, such as going to high school and graduating from art school, making him almost 14 years old. I am so grateful for his lovely being, his soothing purrs, his chatty meows, and many more things that made him so unique.

Titus will always be in our hearts! Part of my mourning process included a visit to my first cat café. In Tallinn there is a cat café Nurri where you can sit and have drink with nine playful/sleepy cats. For visiting the café you pay a fee for the cat’s care and have to read and agree to the rules of conduct. These felines are groomed and treated well, as they walk comfortably between the tables and even on the bar counter top. You can even buy food (raw chicken meat) for them to give during feeding time. Definitely worth visiting again, hopefully when the cats are more active.

Always cherish Titus! <3

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Internship at Nukufilm